Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review - space-based campaign shines in this futuristic shooter

Games don’t arrive with a bigger bang than Call of Duty , and Infinite Warfare is no different.

Following a stream of teases, trailers and celebrity endorsements the game is finally on our consoles – all 88GB of it.

While Battlefield has elected to go historical with Battlefield 1 , Activision's Call of Duty has gone in the other direction – into a future of space battles and high tech weaponry.

It’s going into Halo territory here, just without the aliens. Instead you get the Settlement Defence Force (SDF), a brutal military faction led by Kit Harrington’s Admiral Koch. To take on this intergalactic threat, you step into the mag-boots of Nick Reyes: all-American hero thrust into command by dint of the rest of the senior crew being wiped out.

Developer Infinity Ward has placed emphasis on the characters and whilst Infinite Warfare’s campaign doesn’t break new ground where science fiction is concerned – the characters are some of the best and most rounded we’ve ever seen in a Call of Duty title.

Both the acting and writing deserve a mention and you’ll find yourself drawn in over the seven or so hours you sink into it. The visually stunning set pieces are back in all their glory and getting to grips with Infinite Warfare should be simple enough for anyone that’s played a previous entry.

Gameplay mechanics haven’t changed much from the Black Ops games – you can still defy gravity, cook grenades, sprint along walls and upgrade your gear. The variety comes in part from interstellar dogfights where you hop into a spaceship and fly around trying to outmanoeuvre and outshoot your enemies.

ese segments obviously don’t go as far as something like EVE: Valkyrie, but then again they don’t feel bolted-on either. In fact, these extra vehicular adventures were among my favourite parts of the game.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is very similar to last year’s Black Ops 3 – it’s still merciless on beginners.

The supply drops are back as are the character abilities, although you’ll find them locked to specialised rigs. Infinite Warfare adds a new system called Mission Teams, which allows you to unlock objectives with your chosen team.

It’s an easier way into the mayhem of an online multiplayer match if you’re new to CoD.

Conclusion

There’s no way that Infinite Warfare won’t be a massive seller this year – such is the size of the franchise.

Watch UFC star Conor Mcgregor in action and behind the scenes on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

ut Activision has served up one of the best entries in recent memory this time around thanks to the detail applied to the single-player campaign.

Many players might just wait impatiently to get online and blast away their mates, but I actually enjoyed the opportunity to get stuck into a sci-fi epic and follow it through to the end.